The five-time NBA champion was 41 when he died.
Former Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant, 41, died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning, according to TMZ Sports.
The helicopter, which crashed in Calabasas, California around 10 am PT, had at least five passengers on board. LA County Sheriffs confirmed that there were no survivors.
The Los Angeles Times reports the crash caused a bush fire that made it hard for firefighters to reach the vehicle. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, though the Times reports foggy conditions may have made navigation difficult for the helicopter’s pilot.
Bryant is a five-time NBA champion with the LA Lakers, a team with which he spent his entire 20 year basketball career, until his retirement in 2016. He became the youngest player to score 30,000 points at the age of 34. And he was expected to be indicted in the Hall of Fame in 2021, per the requirement that an indictee must be retired for at least four full seasons.
Following his retirement, Bryant spent time as a youth basketball coach and won an Oscar for his animated short film, Dear Basketball.
Off the court, Bryant was known for a rape allegation; he was accused of sexual assault in 2003 by a then 19-year-old woman in Colorado. He denied the charges, claiming the encounter had been consensual. His accuser did not want to testify, and the matter was settled out of court. The allegation resurfaced during Bryant’s Oscar campaign in 2018, and his short film was removed from a festival at the request of activists over the issue.
Bryant is survived by his wife Vanessa Bryant and four children, Gianna, Natalia and Bianca and Capri.
Author: Catherine Kim
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